Cardinals Stun Dodgers With Dramatic Extra-Inning Comeback
The St. Louis Cardinals completed a remarkable comeback Wednesday night, rallying from an early deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6 in 10 innings at Dodger Stadium.
The Cardinals faced an uphill battle from the beginning after starter Brycen Mautz struggled with his command. Mautz walked four batters during the opening two innings and allowed the Dodgers to establish an early advantage.
Los Angeles struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Shohei Ohtani drew a four-pitch walk before Tommy Edman reached after being hit by a pitch. Following a popout by Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman delivered the biggest blow of the inning, launching a three-run home run to left-center field to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.
St. Louis managed to prevent further damage thanks to strong defensive plays from Bryan Torres and Alec Burleson.
Mautz was removed after recording just one out in the second inning, with Ryan Fernandez taking over. Fernandez and Gordon Graceffo combined to keep Los Angeles off the scoreboard for several innings and gave the Cardinals an opportunity to fight their way back.
The Cardinals finally broke through against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the sixth inning. José Fermín ended Yamamoto’s no-hit bid with a single, and Thomas Saggese followed by crushing a 94 mph sinker for a two-run home run. The blast cut the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2.
Los Angeles quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning. After Edman singled, Betts launched a two-run homer off George Soriano, extending the Dodgers’ advantage to 5-2.
St. Louis refused to go away.
Jordan Walker opened the seventh inning with a double before Leo Bernal followed with his first major league home run. Bernal’s blast pulled the Cardinals within one run at 5-4 and gave St. Louis renewed momentum.
The Cardinals eventually tied the game in the eighth inning. Joshua Baez started the rally with a double against Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott. After Baez advanced to third, Alec Burleson delivered a sacrifice fly to bring him home and make it a 5-5 game.
Neither team could break the deadlock in the ninth inning, sending the game into extra innings.
The Cardinals seized control immediately in the 10th.
José Fermín began the inning as the automatic runner at second base and moved to third when Nathan Church singled. Thomas Saggese then delivered again, beating out a ground ball and driving Fermín home to give St. Louis its first lead of the night at 6-5.
The Cardinals were not finished.
Joshua Baez came through with another clutch hit, ripping his second double of the game into the left-field corner. The hit scored both Church and Saggese, pushing the Cardinals’ lead to 8-5.
Riley O’Brien was then called upon to protect the three-run advantage against the top of the Dodgers’ lineup.
Ohtani represented the first major challenge, but O’Brien struck him out after an eight-pitch battle. Edman later grounded out, allowing Los Angeles to score one run and cut the deficit to 8-6.
With the game on the line, O’Brien completed the job when Betts lined out to center field, sealing an extraordinary come-from-behind victory for St. Louis.
The win gave the Cardinals another impressive victory over the Dodgers and capped a dramatic series in Los Angeles.
St. Louis will continue the series Thursday night, with Quinn Mathews scheduled to start against Los Angeles pitcher Tarik Skubal. First pitch is scheduled for 9:10 p.m. Central Time at Dodger Stadium.
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